As it turned out, the least-heralded matchup on the all-big-man
pay-per-view proved the most competitive. While Stipe
Miocic did not have to mount any sort of dramatic comeback, he
still had to change up a few things in order to keep his perfect
record intact against fellow unbeaten Shane del
Rosario.

To be sure, Miocic was forced to endure some damage in the opening
round. Onetime WBC muay Thai champion del Rosario wasted no time in
rattling off whipping left kicks to the Ohioan’s legs and
midsection, landing a trio of particularly sound shots to the liver
in the first 90 seconds alone. Miocic, a former collegiate wrestler
and amateur boxer, was not without an answer. Rather than being
baited into a muay Thai match, Miocic walked straight into the
pocket with punching combinations, finding a home for his heavy
right hand on more than one occasion.

When Miocic came forward to throw a right hook, del Rosario was
ready, stepping off to the left and firing back with a right
uppercut-left hook combo. Miocic spun around and sprinted away from
his attacker in a moment he later said appeared much worse than it
was.

“I slipped,” Miocic told Fuel TV in a post-fight interview. “That
looked terrible on TV probably, the way I was stumbling around, but
I was fine.”

Shane del
Rosario File Photo

Del Rosario tasted defeat.

Late in the round, del Rosario scored with perhaps his best right
hook and followed up with a blocked left high kick. However, in a
portent of things to come, Miocic hit an easy trip takedown in the
last 20 seconds. Del Rosario had won the round -- he out-landed
Miocic 29-18 in significant strikes, per FightMetric.com -- but
when the horn sounded, it was Miocic with a smile on his face and
del Rosario with his hands on his hips.

“Listen, you gotta move your angles more,” Miocic’s corner told him
between rounds. “The exact techniques we said he was gonna use,
he’s going to, OK? Stay to your left and work hard.”

“I was going with my game plan, but a couple times, I faltered, and
that’s when caught me with the good body kicks and the head kick,”
Miocic told Fuel TV, noting that his strategy was not to take down
del Rosario but simply avoid his left-handed strikes. “I wasn’t
really devastated by it; I was just being an idiot and not doing
what I was supposed to do.”

Del Rosario emerged for the second round looking slightly fatigued
-- perhaps the sign of a 15-month layoff between fights stemming
from an April 2011 car accident -- but he nonetheless snapped off
some heavy leg kicks to open the frame. After 45 seconds, though,
Miocic spun him to the ground with a single-leg in what would prove
to be a game-changing takedown.

Despite his standup background, del Rosario is no slouch on the
ground, having nabbed three of his 11 MMA wins by submission and
training under the tutelage of Giva
Santana at
Team Oyama. That said, Miocic never gave his opponent a chance
to work his guard, landing in side control and subsequently working
from del Rosario’s half-guard. Miocic was in his zone, staying
heavy on top and making sure things were unpleasant for del Rosario
by laying a forearm across his throat between punches and
elbows.

Bleeding from his nose and face after some severe short elbows, del
Rosario attempted to turn over and free himself but only gave
Miocic the space he needed to advance to full mount. More vicious
elbows and forearms followed, and referee Yves Lavigne had seen
enough. Boos could be heard from the Las Vegas crowd for what some
might have considered a premature stoppage, but there was no
argument from del Rosario as he wobbled to his feet and staggered
back to his corner.

Miocic’s victory was not as flashy as Roy Nelson’s
one-punch knockout or Stefan
Struve’s armbar, but, in a way, it was just as impressive. As
former
UFC champion Rashad
Evans opined during post-fight coverage, Miocic “figured out
the puzzle,” then made adjustments and got the win. What more could
you ask of an undefeated prospect on his way up?